According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the Rangers are pursuing left-handed ace Clayton Kershaw, who recently became a free agent after an illustrious 16-year career with the Dodgers — who went on to spend a billion dollars this offseason on starting pitching.
And yet, despite already bolstering their pitching staff with the additions of Yamamoto, Glasnow, and Shohei Ohtani, the Dodgers could still end up adding the three-time Cy Young Award winner Kershaw. In the 2023 season, the veteran left-hander showcased a remarkable 2.46 ERA and 1.063 WHIP in 24 starts. However, his availability for the upcoming season is uncertain due to his recent left shoulder surgery. Kershaw remains hopeful of returning to action at some point next summer.
On the other hand, the Rangers pose an interesting option for Kershaw.
Aside from Kershaw getting the opportunity to pitch for his hometown team, the Rangers are in seemingly desperate need of pitching with Jacob deGrom recovering from Tommy John surgery and not expected to return until August, and Max Scherzer undergoing back surgery and likely to be sidelined until June.
Perhaps the bigger question though is whether the Rangers would ultimately be willing to go into Opening Day with three high-end pitchers still on the shelf with injury. However, given the potentiality of what a rotation of Sherzer, deGrom, and Kershaw may look like come midseason, the Rangers very well could pull the trigger on signing one of the best lefties in MLB history.
